The Koch brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity Foundation, the conservative organization that might as well be called Greedy, Prosperous Americans for Themselves Foundation, hosted an astroturf rally in downtown Denver. The goal was to create the image of crowds of Coloradans screaming and shouting for tax reform. Whelp, despite nearly 3 million residents and the promise of free BBQ for attendees, it appears roughly two dozen residents turned out. No telling how many are the caterers and AFP staff.

ColoradoPols was there to capture the scene:

Lavishly-funded conservative activist groupAmerican For Prosperity-Coloradopromoted the hell out of today’sNo More, Uncle Sam! Reform the Tax Code!rally in Lincoln Park across from the Colorado State Capitol:

“Bring your friends and Rally with AFP-Colorado to REFORM the TAX CODE Now! FREE BBQ LUNCH!” Blared the ads on social media for this rally well in advance, giving AFP’s allegedly huge cadre of supporters plenty of time to make a plan to show. But despite all that preparation and the promise of aliteral “free lunch,” initial reports from the scene in Lincoln Park would appear to indicate…well, plenty of leftovers:

And the icing on the cake? The keynote speaker was Congressman Ken Buck, co-author of Drain the Swamp: How Washington Is Worse Than You Think.

Yes, Rep. Ken Buck is so disgusted with The Swamp, he is a featured speaker at rally funded by two of the biggest Swamp creatures funding Republicans in D.C and across the nation.

Nevertheless, news stations like CBS Denver still covered the publicity stunt as if it were a large grassroots event. Given how much time they got on the local nightly news, AFP is probably raving the event was a success. They may not be wrong. Apparently all AFP has to do is throw burgers on the grill, bring out two dozen staffers and supporters, roll out their bought and paid for Republican representatives for a quick speech and primetime nightly news is happy to amplify their message to the masses.